Chapter Text
“...Is it over?” Gingerbrave hesitantly asked, glancing around at the broken battlefield.
“No,” Dark Cacao declared, “We still need to address the threat of the Beast Cookies.”
White Lily stood up, her wounds still faintly glowing where Pure Vanilla healed them, “Very well. I’ll go check on Silent Salt. You four should head off toward where he bound the Beasts. I doubt the spell will hold much longer, though they should be weakened considering Dark Enchantress’ spell.”
“Of course, White Lily.” Pure Vanilla smiled as she headed off, then turned toward the others, his grip on his staff tightening.
Wizard Cookie said, “I feel awfully tired after all this…”
“Me too!” Gingerbrave shouted.
“I agree…” Strawberry muttered.
Pure Vanilla gently placed his hand on Gingerbrave’s head, “You should rest. You three are still just kids, after all…”
Hollyberry shouted, “Let’s head off. They shouldn’t be far from here!”
Golden Cheese was already hovering above them, “I’ll make sure we’re going the right way.”
Pure Vanilla attempted to follow her with his eyes, though she quickly faded into a blotch of yellow against the now-blue sky. Luckily, Hollyberry took the lead, getting everyone to follow behind her as she tracked Golden Cheese’s positions.
Pure Vanilla followed, idly glancing around until Dark Cacao’s hand came to rest on his shoulder.
“Are you alright, my friend?” He asked, his touch gentler than usual.
Pure Vanilla kept his eyes on the ground, “I feel… conflicted. About Shadow Milk.”
“The Beast?” Dark Cacao’s tone instantly grew harsher.
Pure Vanilla sighed, “Yes. Despite everything he’s done to me, I… feel empathy for him. I—”
“Pure Vanilla Cookie. I understand it’s your nature to be compassionate, but do not let your kindness harm you.”
“...I won’t. But, back when I first fought him… we were one, and I was inside his head, and…” Pure Vanilla paused, unsure whether to share more, then followed, “He’s lonely, and absolutely filled with self-loathing.”
“Nothing could justify the actions of any of those— Beasts.”
“I’m fully aware. However, I do wish to give him a second chance.”
Dark Cacao’s grip on Pure Vanilla’s shoulder tightened, “And how are you sure he wouldn’t use that to hurt you?”
“I’m… not. Though, I’m sure I could protect myself if he tried.”
Hollyberry interjected, temporarily turning her gaze to the two behind her, “I’d be perfectly fine with befriending Eternal Sugar if she’d just listen to reason and stop attempting to pull me back into her garden!”
Pure Vanilla asked, “What exactly is she like?”
“Awfully obsessive,” Hollyberry said, “...though, she truly thinks that her sloth is true Happiness. That’s why she’s stuck in it, and keeps trying to ‘help’ me. She doesn’t want anyone to get hurt, she’s just…doing it wrong. I do hope one day, she'll be able to understand the truth.”
Dark Cacao scoffed, “As if any of them will ever change.”
Hollyberry tilted her head, “Do you know of any reason behind Mystic Flour’s actions?”
Dark Cacao failed to reply.
Pure Vanilla continued, “It just… feels awfully cruel to bind them to suffer forever. No one deserves that.”
Suddenly, Golden Cheese shouted from above, “They’re just up ahead!”
Dark Cacao’s hands went back to his sword as they crossed through the trees to where the Beast Cookies were.
Pure Vanilla looked across the scene, appearing as though it was grayed out, though the color was slowly returning around the area. His eyes eventually landed on who he recognized as Shadow Milk. He moved over to him, sitting down without saying anything.
“That little—” Shadow Milk stopped, his eyes all landing on Pure Vanilla. He dug his nails into the dirt, backing away.
“What do you want,” he asked, his voice devoid of its usual constant taunting tone.
“You already know, don’t you?”
Shadow Milk sharpened his voice, “Hm, I’m not sure, ridicule the state I’m in. The Once-Fount-Of-Knowledge, ending up getting betrayed and stabbed in the guts.”
Pure Vanilla leaned forward, “I could heal you.”
“Fiiine. Whatever. You're wasting your energy. Considering how much of the Soul Jam’s power was stripped away from me—”
Pure Vanilla didn’t let him continue, pressing his hands to the wound while leaning in close enough to touch Soul Jams.
“W—WHAT ON EARTHBREAD DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”
“Helping,” Pure Vanilla smiled innocently, “Unlike you, my dough will be fine without my soul jam’s full power. Besides, I’m pretty sure your power returned to me when Dark Enchantress was destroyed.”
“Tch. Stealing my soul jam again?” Shadow Milk remarked, though his words were less bitter than Pure Vanilla expected.Their faces were practically right up against each other, though Shadow Milk was purposefully leaning away.
Pure Vanilla leaned back as Shadow Milk’s wound finally closed, leaving only a scar on his chest.
“Maybe warn me before you get close enough to kiss me?!” Shadow Milk shouted, dusting himself off as he stood back on his feet.
Pure Vanilla followed, gently grabbing Shadow Milk’s hand as he attempted to walk away, “I apologize. I wasn’t thinking about that. But—”
“You’re asking me to be your friend again,” Shadow Milk stated.
“Yes.”
Shadow Milk shuffled back to look Pure Vanilla in the eyes with all twenty of his, “Okay.”
Pure Vanilla’s face lit up in surprise, “Really?”
“Yes. I will be your…friend.” He leaned his head on Pure Vanilla’s shoulder, “You’re so pathetic.”
Pure Vanilla wasn’t sure if Shadow Milk was talking to him or himself, so he didn’t respond, just running his hands over Shadow Milk’s hair.
•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•
Eternal Sugar perked up as soon as she spotted Hollyberry, shouting her name happily despite her burnt dough, coughing through the ash.
Hollyberry immediately responded by cupping her hand over her mouth.
“Hey. Don’t— do that.”
She gently tapped her shield to Sugar’s Soul Jam, giving her just enough Life Energy to keep her dough intact.
“Listen. I recognize how badly you want me to stay with you. But—” Hollyberry pulled her Soul Jam away from Eternal Sugar’s “you have to understand, I cannot leave my friends behind just for you. If you’d like, you can come to the Hollyberry Kingdom with me. Or you can choose to stay in your garden. But I won’t go back there with you. Trapping me— it’s not the love you think it is.”
Eternal Sugar paused, staring deeply into Hollyberry’s eyes, as if trying to see into her soul. She just— stared at her, her gaze slowly softening over minutes.
Hollyberry glanced over at the others every so often— it seemed Golden Cheese and Dark Cacao were speaking to their other-halves from a distance, while Pure Vanilla was caught in an embrace with his.
Eternal Sugar wouldn’t be able to pull her back there in this state. Hollyberry knew that, seeing as she was leaning on her so heavily, unable to stand or fly at the moment.
Still, the longer Eternal Sugar stared into her, the more anxious Hollyberry got.
“Of course,” Eternal Sugar suddenly declared.
“Hmm?”
“You’re right,” she smiled, tears threatening to overflow in her eyes, “I’ll go with you.”
Hollyberry smiled back, attempting to brush Eternal Sugar’s feathers back into place, though her wings flickered her hand away.
“Ah—!”
“Are you alright?”
“It’s nothing, just…stil hurts from when I got burnt.”
“...Right. I bet my friend could help you, he’s quite good at healing!”
“Who—”
“PURE VANILLA COOKIE!” Hollyberry shouted across the field, causing Eternal Sugar to cover her ears.
Pure Vanilla instantly turned around at the sound, causing Shadow Milk to latch tighter onto him — if that were possible, considering his hair was completely twisted around Pure Vanilla’s arms, to which Pure Vanilla seemed completely oblivious — or simply didn’t care about.
“Yes?”
Hollyberry began dragging Eternal Sugar over, her voice returning to its normal volume, “Do you think you could heal Eternal Sugar?”
“Uhm— just give me a moment, alright?”
He turned back around to Shadow Milk, saying something that caused Shadow Milk’s hair to return to its normal position, and Shadow Milk to let go, floating above the other three.
Pure Vanilla got Eternal Sugar to sit down, trying to make sure he healed every wound she had.
Meanwhile, Hollyberry decided to talk to Shadow Milk.
“Aw, does the mighty hero want to talk to a wretched beast~?” He taunted, though he lowered himself enough Hollyberry didn’t have to strain her neck to look up at him.
“Didn’t Pure Vanilla befriend you?”
Shadow Milk sighed, “I must say, getting nagged gets tiring after a while! …But yes, we are— friends now, I suppose. Why? You think I’m plotting something?” He turned upside-down, still holding his hands together in the air, as if hanging onto a bar.
“I trust Pure Vanilla’s judgement. If he trusts you, then I do too.”
“Blegh. You heroes are weird. Just because Eternal Sugar trusts someone doesn’t mean I automatically do.”
Hollyberry sighed, “Well, I don’t completely trust you. I haven’t forgotten the chaos you threw everyone into, and your mind games. However, I will give you a chance, since he clearly thinks you deserve one.”
“Do you feel better?” Pure Vanilla asked, removing his hand from Eternal Sugar’s right wing, “I…think I healed everything.”
Eternal Sugar twirled around, flapping her wings happily.
“Thank you dear~! You are quite the kind one.”
Pure Vanilla chuckled, “It’s no problem. Though, how exactly did you get burnt that badly?”
“Well… Hollyberry caught on fire while I was latched onto her, and—”
“You didn’t let go instantly? How… idiotic.” Shadow Milk interrupted, giggling behind her.
Eternal Sugar pouted, “Can you let me speak for once in your life?!”
“I just did, silly~!”
“Ughhh! You know that’s not what I meant, you absolute piece of—!”
Eternal Sugar was interrupted by Hollyberry hugging her from behind, careful to avoid crushing her wings.
“Hey! Relax! What is with you two?” Hollyberry asked, glancing between the two Beast Cookies.
Sugar didn’t respond, just twisting herself around in Hollyberry’s hold and burying herself in her shoulder.
Hollyberry looked at Shadow Milk — who was now sitting beside Pure Vanilla — for answers.
He noticed her gaze, simply replying, “We’re siblings.”
“It is not because we’re siblings, you dimwit. It’s because you’re an asshole.” Eternal Sugar muttered.
“I disagree, you wouldn’t even talk to me if we weren’t.”
“I don’t even want to when we are.”
“Augh! You wound me!” Shadow Milk pretended to faint dramatically into the dirt, though leaving the eyes in his hair wide open.
“I wonder how the other two are doing with their other halves…” Pure Vanilla muttered, glancing behind Hollyberry at the other two.
“It seemed like they were just lecturing them,” Hollyberry replied, then glanced at Eternal Sugar’s worried face.
“Jeez Sugar, are you concerned about them~?” Shadow Milk taunted, “They’ll come around.”
Eternal Sugar looked at Hollyberry, attempting to ignore Shadow Milk, “I’m worried they won’t be given the chance at all.”
Pure Vanilla frowned, “I doubt Dark Cacao and Golden Cheese would…”
Eternal Sugar sighed, “I know you know your friends well, but I know mine. Even if they are offered it, I’m not sure they’d accept it.”
“I see,” Pure Vanilla replied.
Hollyberry attempted to lighten the mood, “Aw, cheer up everyone. Things will be alright!”
Eternal Sugar forced a smile on her face, “You’re probably right… I should just… trust them, I guess.”
“That’s the spirit!” Hollyberry grinned, pulling Eternal Sugar into a hug.
Hollyberry wasn’t sure if they’d get — or even accept — a chance either, but might as well not think about it.
•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•
“Mystic Flour Cookie.” Dark Cacao said, pointing his sword toward her.
Mystic Flour replied indifferently, “I see you have come to crumble me.”
“Not exactly.”
She tilted her head ever-so-slightly.
“I do not appreciate what you stand for in the slightest. Nor do I agree with your actions. You truly are a Beast. The idea of returning the entirety of Earthbread to flour, simply because you were wronged in the past, is one I cannot manage to comprehend. A few cookies’ greed or terrible actions should not determine the fate of all of Earthbread. However… A couple of my friends have expressed concern and empathy for their Beastly counterparts, and how they think your collective punishment was unfair. I could consider allowing you a chance to redeem yourself, thinking back on what you have told me. I am uncertain of whether you truly harbor ill intent, or if you believe you’re serving cookiekind, but if you at least try…” He stopped, glancing down at her.
“Is your dough crumbling?” Dark Cacao asked.
“Yes. Without the power of the Soul Jam, this vessel is simply unsustainable.”
He sighed, adjusting the tip of his sword so that it lightly brushed her Soul Jam, allowing just enough power to keep her alive to flow through it before pulling away.
He continued, “If you truly try to be better—or at the very least, do not continue in your quest to return everything to nothing, I would not be opposed to offering you space in my Kingdom.”
“Whether or not I accept does not matter,” She declared, “So why should I?”
“Why shouldn’t you?”
Mystic Flour cracked her eyes open, staring him up and down, then glancing somewhere behind him, her face slightly adjusting as if she wanted to react but forced herself not to.
“Fine. I suppose I cannot find any reason I shouldn’t.”
Dark Cacao pulled his sword back, surprised.
“Very well,” He pulled her up, though as soon as she was on her feet she pulled her hands back.
“Do not think this means you have my trust,” he said, “You still must earn that.”
She nodded, then began to move away.
He finally looked behind him, to where she had glanced before, and noticed that Pure Vanilla, Hollyberry, and their Beasts were all sitting in a corner of the field. Mystic Flour had gone to join them, which resulted in Hollyberry’s counterpart — Eternal Sugar? — practically tackling her in a hug.
Dark Cacao moved over to join them, leaning his sword against a tree.
“Dark Cacao!” Hollyberry exclaimed.
“How kind of you to join us, my friend.” Pure Vanilla said, “Mystic Flour, would you like for me to heal you?”
Mystic Flour glanced at him, then was pushed toward the other healer by Eternal Sugar.
“...I suppose it’s alright,” She said, which immediately resulted in Pure Vanilla beginning to heal her.
Dark Cacao shot a wary glance at Shadow Milk Cookie, who seemed to be toying with illusion magic while sitting in the tree above Pure Vanilla.
“I don’t trust him,” he muttered to Hollyberry.
Hollyberry asked, “Shadow Milk?”
“Yes. I don’t trust any of them, but hes…”
“I don’t trust him completely either. However, since Pure Vanilla has chosen to befriend him, I trust Pure Vanilla’s judgement. You should too.”
“You’ve seen— experienced what he’s capable of. How can we be sure he won’t harm Pure Vanilla the same way? I— understand he can defend himself. But it’d be better if he never risks getting hurt at all.”
“Well, you and I are risking ourselves practically the same way.”
Dark Cacao didn’t have a response. He glanced back toward the tree Shadow Milk was meant to be at—
Only to get startled from behind by none other than the jester himself.
“Boo!” Shadow Milk shouted, floating up to dodge the anticipated grab-and-swing of Cacao’s sword, landing back on it like a platform, “I heard you talking about me and Vanilly. Don’t you worry your pretty little head, I won’t hurt him again~! …Well, hopefully not.” He seemed almost upset after that last statement, glancing back toward Pure Vanilla, who was happily conversing with the other two beasts about healing magic. Then, a smile growing on his face again, he jumped off Cacao’s sword, landing in the tree above him, “Then again, only time will tell~!”
“Know that you’re only tolerated for Pure Vanilla’s sake, Shadow Milk Cookie.”
“Oh wowie, I just feel so so so welcome around here! No, seriously, you couldn’t be kinder if you’d just stabbed me right now.”
Hollyberry replied, “Oh ignore him. He’s just uptight. I’m plenty willing to give you a chance if Pure Vanilla is, Shadow Milk.”
“Hm, seems like a nicer way to say you only allow me around because of Pure Vanilla, but I’ll take it.”
“Well, he does know you the best out of all of us.”
“Whaaatever. I’m gonna go bother Misty now.”
With that Shadow Milk seemingly disappeared into the shadows again, reappearing behind Mystic Flour in an attempt to scare her.
“...Misty?” Dark Cacao muttered, tilting his head.
“I… suppose he has a nickname for her. That’s… kind of sweet.”
“Hmph.”
Pure Vanilla approached the two of them, his left hand holding his staff loosely.
“Was Shadow Milk bothering you two…?”
Hollyberry shrugged, “Not really. He seemed more playful than anything.
Dark Cacao leaned against the tree, avoiding the sunlight, “I disagree.”
“Heh. Thought so,” Pure Vanilla muttered, “I’m sure he’ll become kinder as time goes on. He’s only just decided to join me…”
“Yea!” Hollyberry shouted, “He’s barely been given time!”
Dark Cacao grumbled, “I’d at the very least expect him not to attempt to scare cookies.”
“...He did say he thought you should lighten up. I… suppose he thought that was the course of action. He’ll learn eventually. It’ll take a while, but… eventually.”
“I’d hope it’s sooner rather than later.”
Eternal Sugar suddenly came over, “Hollyberry Cookie… when will we be going back to your kingdom?”
“Soon. We just need to wait for Golden Cheese and White Lily, then we’ll head back to Crispia.”
“Mhm…” Eternal Sugar leaned into her shoulder, “I’m tired…”
“You could take a nap for a bit. I doubt we’ll be heading out too soon.”
Eternal Sugar seemed to instantly fall asleep on Hollyberry’s shoulder. Hollyberry narrowly kept her from falling, before sitting down, gently lowering Sugar along with her.
Dark Cacao didn’t trust any of the Beasts — for good reason — but he decided to give them a chance.
Just one.
•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•
Golden Cheese spun one of her spears in her hand as she approached Burning Spice.
“Well, you look just positively terrible.” She remarked, which earned her a growl from Burning Spice.
“You dare taunt— me?!”
“I do. It’s quite foolish, the way you think. You could very well help nourish the world, yet you choose to focus on the worst parts, and conclude it must be destroyed based purely on that.”
“I am— not. I simply see… the bigger picture. Everything repeats, no matter how hard you try.”
“That is the problem. You’re so focused on the bigger picture, on how everything appears the same, that you don’t even care to notice what makes each fallen and thriving civilization, each cookie, each relic of an old time, everything, special. It all seems the same to you because you refuse to see what is unique in this world. You believe everything is cyclic, and refuse to notice what breaks that cycle. And then, because of your own perceptions, you decide everything, everyone, should be destroyed? I doubt you’ll ever truly listen, or understand the true value of this world, for you have already decided it forsaken.”
“I’ve already explained it to you. I will not repeat what I’ve already stated. Everything must be destroyed. What other option is there?”
“I don’t know, to not tear the world apart on a whim? I understand you get a certain thrill from destruction, but there are other ways to go about that rather than destroying everything.”
Golden Cheese paused.
“I will not refuse you the chance to change. Though, would you take it?”
Burning Spice grumbled, “You’re hardly providing me with a choice, you know.”
“What? It’s not like I’m saying you must.”
Burning Spice glanced to the side, where it seemed the other six had gathered. Eternal Sugar seemed to catch his eye with a look of concern, then turned back toward the others.
“If you are going to accept, you cannot continue to be the so-called ‘Great Destroyer.’ We may find a different outlet for your feelings, but other than that—”
“Fine,” he growled, “It’s not as if you’d accept my rejection anyway.
Golden Cheese smirked, poking the soul jam on Spice’s chest, allowing just enough power to flow into it to keep him alive. “Good. Come along now. We should go talk to the others.”
Mystic Flour glanced up as Burning Spice entered, “Oh look. The noisy one is here…”
Burning Spice smiled in return, his yellow teeth holding silver specks in them.
“Burning Spice, darling, please get that shit cleaned off you.” Shadow Milk said, keeping himself far away, “It’s dangerous.”
Burning Spice simply replied, “I can handle it!”
“THAT IS LIQUID MERCURY, AND YOU ARE COMPLETELY COVERED IN IT!” Shadow Milk shrieked, then continued, “Do you understand how dangerous that is, Burning Spice Cookie?! AT ALL?!”
“I dunno.”
“I— I swear to— GO CLEAN YOURSELF OFF BEFORE I SPLASH YOU MYSELF!”
“It can’t possibly— affect me— that much.” Burning Spice coughed through his sentence.
“Oh I don’t know, it could maybe KILL YOU?! Or, at best, that much would just damage your internal organs, particularly your nervous system— especially considering you’re all cut up, it’s probably all in your bloodstream!”
“...no.”
Shadow Milk stomped angrily. “YOU CAN’T JUST SAY NO!”
Rather than continue trying to argue, Shadow Milk summoned a portal over Spice’s head, causing a flood of milk to fall on him.
Burning Spice instantly freaked out, “Shadow Milk Cookie, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!”
“Cleaning you off with the Milk Lake from the Spire, and I’m not gonna stop dumping milk on you if you don't go and clean yourself up in the river. It’s the least you can do to help yourself, and everyone else, you absolute moron.”
Burning Spice attempted to dive out of the stream, though it followed him around like a raincloud above his head.
“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!” Burning Spice shouted, “I get it!”
Shadow Milk closed the portal, “River. Now.”
Burning Spice sighed, stumbling off toward the river.
“Absolute idiot,” Shadow Milk muttered, then noticed everyone’s eyes on him, “What?”
Golden Cheese sighed, “Did you have to scream at him like a lunatic?”
“Would you rather let him give everyone mercury poisoning?”
“How would—”
“Vapor. He’s almost definitely been affected himself, I’ll have to come up with a spell to help him, or— something.”
Pure Vanilla chuckled, “It’s sweet, how you’re worried about him.”
“I’m not worried about him! I’m worried about myself!”
Pure Vanilla looked at him skeptically, “You sure?”
Shadow Milk crossed his legs and arms, leaning back in the air, “I mean it! I could care less about what that idiot does.”
“Then why are you planning to come up with a spell to help him?”
“...shut up.”
“I’ll help you if you’d like.”
Shadow Milk sighed, “Fine, let’s draw runes in the dirt while we wait for him to come back or whatever. Assuming he doesn’t drown himself on accident.”
Golden Cheese fluttered over to the other two ancients, sitting under a tree. Eternal Sugar was asleep, propped up against Hollyberry’s shoulder.
“I see everyone has chosen to give their Beasts another chance, no?”
“Yep! Eternal Sugar took quite kindly to the idea.”
“Mystic Flour did not seem to care at all.”
“If I’m being quite honest, I do not wish to give Burning Spice another chance. It just… didn’t seem quite fair to refuse Burning Spice when you all had already allowed your Beasts to join you.”
“Hollyberry and Pure Vanilla got me to rethink the way I view Mystic Flour. Although I still strongly disagree with her ideals, I suppose I can understand where she’s coming from.”
“Tch. You could never convince me to ‘rethink’ Spice. The way he chooses to see the world is far too different from the way in which I do.”
Burning Spice suddenly reemerged through the trees, shaking off like a wet dog, seeming as though he had finally gotten the mercury off of him, though his dough was still riddled with cuts.
“There. Are you happy now, clown?”
“Yeah yeah be bitter toward me all you want. Could you come stand right here?”
Burning Spice’s grip on his axe tightened, “Why?”
“Relax,” Pure Vanilla replied, “It’s simply a spell that should get the mercury out of your system and prevent any further damage.”
Golden Cheese fluttered toward them, glaring at Burning Spice, “Just get in the circle, you buffoon.”
Burning Spice stepped tentatively into the middle of the circle, as Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla positioned themselves on either side to trigger the spell. A light blue light shined beneath Spice, fading away after a minute.
“You feel better, Spi?” Shadow Milk asked, floating once again.
“...Slightly, I suppose.”
“Mhm. You just don’t wanna admit I was right.”
Pure Vanilla interjected, “Okay, please don’t fight again, you two.”
“It was hardly a fight before. He was simply screaming his lungs out at me.”
“Because I—” Shadow Milk stopped, crossing his arms, “Whatever, I don’t need to prove anything to you anyways.”
Burning Spice scoffed, watching Shadow Milk retreat into the trees.
“Of course. Because you never have to explain your actions, do you?!”
Shadow Milk didn’t respond, wrapping his hair around himself while one eye stayed out to peer at everyone below.
Pure Vanilla put both hands on his staff, “Would anyone like to make flower crowns?”
“...Flower crowns?” Burning Spice repeated
“Well, I just figured since we’re waiting for White Lily, it… might be a nice thing to do! I think I saw some flowers in the trees when the other heroes and I were crossing it, I could probably get Hollyberry and Dark Cacao to help…”
“Do we even have the proper supplies?” Golden Cheese asked.
“Hm…not really, although I’m sure we can figure something out!” Pure Vanilla began heading toward the tree Hollyberry and Cacao were under, “C’mon, Golden Cheese, you should look for flowers too!”
Golden Cheese followed behind him, not saying a thing as she thought about the offers each Ancient Hero had given to their Beast counterpart.
Was this really the best way to do this?
“Golden Cheese, Dark Cacao?” Hollyberry asked, gently moving Eternal Sugar from her shoulder to rest against the grass, picking up her shield.
“Yes?” the two replied in unison
“Do you think while Pure Vanilla goes to find flowers and I find something to use to stick the flowers on, you could attempt to scrape off small bits of tree bark to use as a frame? Just enough so that you can bend it without it breaking.”
“I suppose,” Dark Cacao said, grabbing his sword and dragging it across the side of the tree, a small piece of bark curling off.
Golden Cheese copied his movements with her spear against another tree as Pure Vanilla and Hollyberry ran off into the forest.
“Are we really sure about this…?” Golden Cheese asked.
Dark Cacao replied, “What exactly?”
“Giving the Beasts another chance. They aren’t exactly… fully willing, it seems. How can we be sure this won’t simply end in betrayal, or yet another war?”
“I agree. However, perhaps they are simply…misguided. Hollyberry believes Eternal Sugar Cookie doesn’t have ill intent, and perhaps that is the case for the others. I admit, I do not believe I know my counterpart well enough to be sure.”
Golden Cheese sighed, “I suppose I understand what you mean, however I do not believe that to be the case with Burning Spice. He simply seems to enjoy destruction for the fun of it. Although…” She looked over at Burning Spice, who was talking to Mystic Flour while leaning on his axe, “perhaps he truly believes he’s freeing cookies from the cycle of life.” She sighed, glancing down at the bark shavings below her feet, then at Dark Cacao’s
“Do you think we have enough,” she asked, attempting to count them despite how uneven they were, twisting into each other in her vision.
“Perhaps. Though, we should test their durability first. To make sure we can use them properly.”
Golden Cheese bent down, picking hers off the ground and attempting to mold them into the shape of a circle, discarding the ones that broke or didn’t bend.
“I have about seven that’ll work,” she declared, looking over at Dark Cacao.
“I have five.”
“I suppose we simply have to wait for Pure Vanilla and Hollyberry to re—”
Before Golden Cheese could finish, Hollyberry already appeared out of the forest, holding her shield with her soul jam pointed down like a basket.
“Did you find anything?” Dark Cacao asked.
Hollyberry smiled, “I have tree sap!”
Golden Cheese said, “Hm, that’ll do… where’s Pure Vanilla?”
“Give him some time. He’s probably still picking flowers.”
•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•
“Pure Vanilla?” White Lily noticed him bent down in a small patch of flowers, the sun flickering on him through the leaves of trees above.
He turned toward the sound of her voice, opening his eyes, “Oh! Hello Lily! …where’s Silent Salt?”
“He— just— follow me, okay?”
Pure Vanilla stood up, obeying what she had told him.
☆•----------------------------------------------------------------•☆
“I… didn’t exactly know what to do.” White Lily said, focused on Pure Vanilla’s concerned expression as he stared at Silent Salt.
“I am alright.” Silent Salt declared at the sight of Pure Vanilla’s face, “Seeing as White Lily Cookie has replenished my soul jam, it cannot kill me.”
“Yes, but—” Pure Vanilla looked up at the large fork, trying to think of any idea on what to do.
“I think,” White Lily said, running her hands over the fork, “That if I pull it out and you move to heal him immediately after, it should be easy to get him out. I just didn’t think I could heal him with my own magic, and I didn’t want to cause unnecessary bleeding. Do you think you can, Pure Vanilla?”
Pure Vanilla nodded.
“Okay. Just go to heal him on my signal.”
White Lily spun her staff around, lifting the fork off Silent Salt’s body.
“Now!” She shouted.
Pure Vanilla dove toward the wounded cookie, his hands already glowing with his power before his hands ever touched the wound.
White Lily tossed the fork out toward the castle. It landed with a large BOOM, shaking the ground around them.
Pure Vanilla had the wound closed up within seconds, standing up with his staff, then pulling Silent Salt up.
“Thank you, Pure Vanilla Cookie.”
“It’s no problem! Although, you can just call me Pure Vanilla…”
Silent Salt tilted his head, “Why? Is it not a sign of respect in the current day?”
“Well, it is, but not ne—”
“Then that is what I shall call you.”
Pure Vanilla chuckled, “Alright then. We should head back, the others are waiting.”
White Lily asked, “Uhm, Pure Vanilla—”
“Yes?”
“What exactly has happened with the other Beast Cookies…?”
Pure Vanilla lit up, “Oh! The other heroes and I got them to join our side!”
Silent Salt’s tone harshened, his words dripping with venom, “Truly? Are you sure those— wretched Beasts are not plotting to betray you at a whim? That they’re truly going to change?”
“No,” Pure Vanilla said, stopping to pick up the flowers he had left, “but if no one gives them a chance, they never will. I’d rather fall for a lie than deny them the chance to change when they say they will.” He continued toward the clearing.
“And if they don’t? If they simply remain the same, plunging the world into chaos once more?!”
“Then we do what we must. However, they are not truly a threat at the moment.”
The sunlight quickly met them as they entered the clearing, slightly to the side of where everyone else seemed to have gathered.
“I’m back!” Pure Vanilla shouted.
Hollyberry ran over, pulling him into a hug, “Finally you slowpoke! What on Earthbread could’ve taken you so long?”
“I had a little… detour.”
Only then did Hollyberry notice the other two behind him, then pull White Lily into a hug as well.
“Ah, I see you’ve finally decided to join us, White Lily!”
“Mhm! I just had to help Silent Salt first.”
White Lily noticed Golden Cheese was staring at her, though her gaze seemed… softer than she had expected.
“Golden Cheese Cookie. May I talk to you alone?” White Lily asked.
Golden Cheese followed her across the clearing, the sun beating down on both of them.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me, but… I would like to apologize for the hurt I caused you back in the Dark Flour war.”
Golden Cheese paused, just staring at her.
“I… I don’t know If I can say I ‘forgive’ you. Though I no longer hold it against you, the past still weighs on my mind. But, I shall always be your friend and ally, so long as neither of us crumble.”
White Lily smiled, “I understand.”
“We should go join the others now. It will be fun to make some of those flower crowns before we depart, don’t you think?”
“White Lily took her hand, “Of course.”